Police in Kootenays launch new mental health screening tool

Police in B.C.’s Kootenay region roll out a new mental health screening tool.

Police in B.C.’s Kootenay region are rolling out a new mental health screening tool, aimed at supporting people in crisis.

HealthIM is a digital system that was developed to facilitate better communication between frontline officers and other health-care providers, to improve interactions in real time.

The responding officer is guided through a series of questions, meant to de-escalate crisis situations and better assess someone in need.

The program also improves co-ordination between police and hospital emergency departments to flag certain kinds of behaviour and improve continuity of care.

The regional rollout began the last week of February, at RCMP detachments in Golden, Columbia Valley, Elk Valley, Creston, Kimberley and Cranbrook.

“For our smaller detachments where members often juggle limited resources and large response areas, this tool helps give clearer information up front, improves member safety, and helps us share more consistent details with our health-care partners so everyone is working from the same picture,” Chief Supt. Shawna Baher said in a news release Friday.

The system has already been adopted by a number of other police departments in the province, including Delta, Surrey and Prince George, as well as a number of RCMP detachments on Vancouver Island. The release from the BC RCMP says HealthIM has already supported more than 10,500 calls. It notes that the number of apprehensions in Prince George has gone down by 42 per cent within one year of implementation. In Delta, it says, hospital wait times have decreased by an average of 20 minutes per call.

“This collaborative approach ensures individuals experiencing a mental health emergency receive timely and compassionate care,” Health Minister Josie Osborne said in the release.

The program is expected to launch across other areas of the Interior Health region over the next few months.